Kodak has hired Braun Research, a private marketing and public opinion research firm to get the inside story on home printing. Recently Kodak had also hired professional testers to test the price of printing for each page using different printers and inks. This time the research is not aimed at glorifying Kodak but to obtain virtual publicity by taking credit for the survey.

A survey conducted in the United States reveals that 50% of the home printer users would print more if the ink was cheaper. 60% of the respondents felt that the printer ink was expensive and they try not to waste it. It may be a good thing for the environment that the expensive inks are conserving paper; it doesn’t matter how our environment is protected, as long as they are protected.

The survey also reveals sacrifice, compromise and even sneaking around in the name of ink savings, such as:
— Printing in black and white to conserve color ink (59%)
— Printing in “draft” or “economy” mode (33%)
— Denying themselves a hardcopy all together – choosing to view things on screen instead of printing (57%)
— Avoid printing photos (30%)
— Printing at other locations, such as a friend’s house (25%)

The survey might have been conducted in the US but I am absolutely sure that a similar response would be obtained if the same was conducted in the UK and Europe. There is a sequel to this post; next up will be how home printers satisfy their craving of needing to print more and more.

via Yahoo Biz